By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

The goal of spirituality is not merely “Consciousness,” but “Embodied Consciousness.”  What does that mean?

It means you attain the ultimate state WHILE you live in a body, not after you leave it. Many spiritual traditions honor only those who have left their bodies.   In the West, no one can be called a saint until they’ve been dead for 50 years or more.

Some traditions focus on getting enlightened on the way out.  Tibetan Buddhism is well-known for its “Book of the Dead,” which is an instruction manual for your departure. Krishna-Consciousness has the goal to merge after you finish your life on earth.

The Kashmiri Shaivite tantric tradition says you can be enlightened and enlivened at the same time.  The goal is embodied Consciousness.

Tantra means loom, referring to the interweaving of the warp and woof threads, the Divine Reality and the mundane realities. The goal is to know your inherent Divinity while you are alive, and to see that same Reality in all others, all of the time.

Is this even attainable? You might wonder at the possibility for yourself.  Tantra says yes and that you need help from an enlightened Master to get there yourself.

Gururupaaya.h. — Shiva Sutras 2.6

The Guru is both the means and the goal.  

If enlightened living is possible, surely someone must have made it.  Many different someone’s, throughout the ages, not merely one who lived 2,000 years ago.  Were there others?  Are there others?

Yes.  Emphatically yes!  I have been blessed by meeting over 20 enlightened beings, from my own tradition as well as others. While they are all individual and unique, there is something consistent between them – their inner state is expanded beyond the norm.  And it is visible to others.

This is great in two ways:  1) that there are many enlightened beings living now, and 2) that you can see they are different.  They embody the goal.  Remember, the goal is embodied Consciousness.

You might decide, as I did, to get out there and meet as many as you can. Yet each one of them will tell you, “Pick one of us and focus.  Do the practices that we share, for we know that they work.  Cultivate your ability to be in relationship by developing your relationship with me.  It will overflow into your life and all your relationships.”

I was fortunate that I already had a decade with my own Guru before I went to meet others. I didn’t get confused by their different approaches.  Why do they bring so many different approaches to spirituality?  Because there are so many different kinds of people.

I was able to see their Divine light and to honor them without being pulled off my path. My roots grew deeply into Consciousness with my Baba, for which I am ever grateful.

It was easy, for Baba was “rupa” — the form, the embodiment of Consciousness-Itself.  And he was the consummate “Guru” — teacher, guide and protector.  He sheltered and nurtured me for all the years I needed it, then sent me with his blessings when it was time for me to fly.

Yes, the Guru is the goal. Baba emanated Divine Consciousness. Sitting in his presence was like sunbathing, something I know from my California adolescence.  I got warmed all the way into my bones, into my soul and deeper.  I melted into the Divine Essence that I already was.  Baba showed me it was possible.  And he showed me the way.

Yes, the Guru is the means to the goal.  The Guru dispenses Divine Energy, the energy of upliftment, which is most concentrated when giving Shaktipat.  The Guru dispenses teachings, the flashlight you use to find your way through the inner darkness.  

The Guru lives in the constant flow of inner illumination and shares it abundantly.  You need all of this in order to attain the highest – which is the knowing of the One Divine Reality that you already are.  Thus you become embodied Consciousness.